Maliwan

Isn't it time you take your weapons to the next level? Sure, old-fashioned slug throwers have served you well in the past, but so did Bologna sandwiches. You've grown. Your tastes have changed. They've refined. It's time you had a gun that evolved with you and didn't feel like a family heirloom. Maliwan believes in honoring the past by embracing the future. Every Maliwan weapon is designed by the skilled technicians in our bleeding-edge laboratories to pack as much elemental punch as possible. Our staff of artisans crafts each weapon to look as good as it performs. Maliwan offers a full line of pistols, shotguns, rifles, and rocket launchers to fit every style. If it's not elemental, it's not a Maliwan.

— Maliwan sales pitch, Official Borderlands Guide

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Maliwan is a weapons'manufacturer on Pandora. Their weapons and shields always use some form of elemental technology, but due to this fact, they tend to lack in other areas. Base firepower in particular seems to suffer. Maliwan weapons are distinguished by their unique light blue paint scheme.

Florentine: Similar design to the Hellfire, but with silver and black instead of Blue and Yellow (respectively).

Infection: Shiny Sea green with accents of other colours.

Pearlescent weapons

Storm: Exactly the same as a purple variant Snider sniper rifle.

Wanderlust: Metallic, dark orange cyan and black design.

Rarity-specific visual changes:

Blue and purple SMGs have a magazine that is shaped like a disk that spins as the weapon is fired.

White and blue Pistols lack the triangular casing over their magazine that their variants of other rarities feature.

Usage

As the elemental specialists, Maliwan guns tend to excel against one specific type of enemy and to have severely reduced effects on others (e.g. Incendiary weapons are very effective against bandits, but robotic enemies are highly resistant). This encourages Maliwan users to carry spare guns with different elemental effects at all times, and use them according to the opposition they are facing.

As a result, players are encouraged to use Maliwan in the later gameplay such as in TVHM, when they have more inventory slots, and the elements do more damage to their corresponding enemy.

Choosing the right element for the right opponents can make the Maliwans extremely effective despite their generally low bullet damage.

Some enemies (like crystalisks with the exception of explosive) are immune or resistant to any kind of elemental damage. Maliwan guns will perform very poorly against them.

Slag will still do normal damage, although cannot apply effect if the target is immune.

Maya uses the elemental properties of Maliwan guns to great effect, as her Cataclysm skill tree have several skills that improve elemental damage and effects. Gaige and Krieg also paired well with Shock and Incendiary Maliwan weapons if invested Little Big Trouble or Hellborn skill tree.

Upon impact, bullets from Maliwan firearms will explode and deal elemental damage in a small radius.

Bullets from Maliwan firearms tend to have slower traveling speed than most other brands, only faster than Torgue gyrojets or E-tech.

Quotes

"The voice of the Maliwan corporation speaks. The hordes stand assembled, frothing at the mouth. Thirsty for blood. They know not of the terror they shall feel, the beautiful destruction that will befall them. For in the hands of their ostensible victim, polished to a sheen and wielding the power of every element under the sun, lies a Maliwan rifle. The deus ex arma. The god in the weapon. Maliwan." (Radio advertisement)

"Combat is an art. Maliwan weapons are the paint. Our elemental tech transforms the battlefield from a cacophony of idiocy, into a masterpiece of destruction. The unwashed hordes will burn, and fry, and melt, into a portrait of exquisite death. Maliwan. Beauty through destruction." (Radio advertisement)

"Maliwan is pleased to offer technologically advanced weapons for the more... discerning warrior. Every Maliwan gun places the power of the elements in your hands -- the elegance of their form matched only by the deadliness of their tech." (Radio advertisement)

Notes

Maliwan guns are always elemental (either slag, corrosive, incendiary or shock, but never explosive) and generally have increased elemental effect chance and damage when compared to guns from other manufacturers.

Most Maliwan weapon types almost always have the "Bonus Elemental Damage" trait, the amount of bonus damage differing between weapon types

​Pistol bonus damage is equal to 100% of the damage listed on the item card.

Sniper rifle bonus damage is equal to 60% of the damage listed on the item card.

Rocket launcher does not seem to deal bonus damage directly, but a fraction of the damage value is delivered in a short radius around the point of impact.

SMGs do not typically have the "Bonus Elemental Damage" trait.

Maliwans have a very sleek and futuristic design, with rounded corners, bright colors and many blinking lights.

Maliwan weapons in Borderlands 2 have unique reload animations. Sniper rifles use a break-action system in which the player inserts an elongated magazine, pistols use revolver-like triangular cartridges, submachine guns use either an energy pod (white or green rarity) or a constantly rotating ammunition disc that is wound when reloaded (unique, purple, and legendary rarity), and rocket launchers use a large, segmented cartridge of rockets that spin into place.

Maliwan weapon sights often share similar characteristics; rocket launcher sights are small and rectangular with detailed screen statistics, SMG and pistol sights are small hubs that produce a holographic, rotating reticle, and sniper rifles have futuristic scopes that feature a hexagonal pattern when zoomed in.

Prior to Patch 1.7.0, purple-rarity Maliwan SMGs were more common than those of other manufacturers, and the only blue-rarity Maliwan SMG was the Chulainn. All other SMGs were affected by a bug in the parts list for blue-rarity Maliwan SMGs which mandated use of the "Type C" body. When present, the "Type C" body automatically elevates the weapon to purple rarity, including the inherent boosts to weapon damage and price. This was fixed in Patch 1.7.0 which allowed blue-rarity Maliwan submachine guns to spawn naturally.[1]

Though stats-wise such "attempted blue" SMGs are identical to their fully purple counterparts, the automatic increase in rarity will not change the skin used by the weapon, making it possible to determine if a weapon is "naturally purple" by careful visual inspection.

Despite the patch, "attempted blue" Maliwan SMGs in players' backpacks and storage are still considered valid, and retain purple rarity. This includes any Crits already in possession. Previously a purple mission reward, the Crit is the one unique Maliwan SMG affected by the fix.

Trivia

Most of the named and legendary weapons seem to be named after destructive natural elements and events.

In Borderlands 2, Maliwan no longer manufactures shotguns.

In the Maliwan radio ad in Borderlands 2, a rifle named Deus Ex Arma is mentioned.

Maliwan produces its own brand of alcoholic beverage named "Maliwan Black Label", that can be found scattered across Pandora.

Thoughout the series, Maliwan currently never works with combat rifles from Borderlands, nor assault rifles in Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-sequel

Quotes

"Maliwan weapons – form and function fused together into an artist's scalpel. A paintbrush with which to create the masterpiece of your enemy's demise. Desire and destiny. Violence and magnificence. Maliwan." (Radio advertisment)

"Maliwan. Mix the elements together to discover your favorite lethal combination. Fire. Ice. Corrosive. Shock. Use the Maliwan palette to paint your victory on the corpses of your enemies. Death and delight. Maliwan." (Radio advertisment)

Notes

Maliwan guns are always elemental (either cryo, corrosive, incendiary or shock, but never explosive) and generally have increased elemental effect chance and damage when compared to guns from other manufacturers.

Most Maliwan weapon types almost always have the "Bonus Elemental Damage" trait, the amount of bonus damage differing between weapon types

​Pistol bonus damage is equal to 100% of the damage listed on the item card.

Sniper rifle bonus damage is equal to 60% of the damage listed on the item card.

Rocket launcher does not seem to deal bonus damage directly, but a fraction of the damage value is delivered in a short radius around the point of impact.

SMGs do not typically have the "Bonus Elemental Damage" trait.

Maliwans have a very sleek and futuristic design, with rounded corners, bright colors and many blinking lights.